A reader who lives in southeast Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood emailed last week to say he was suddenly attacked as he strolled down a quiet street near his home. The assailant? A Northern mockingbird.
“I felt something slightly touch my head,” he said. “At first, I thought it was a big bug, but when I looked up I saw this mockingbird diving straight at me. I waved my arm and he turned at the last second. But he kept swooping and diving around me like he was never going to stop.”
Finally, after a few minutes, the bird flew back into a thick hedge where its nest presumably was. (Right now, many mockingbirds are raising their second brood of the year and probably will produce a third before summer is over.)
“I’ve heard of mockingbirds attacking dogs and cats, but I didn’t know they would come after people,” my emailer wrote.
Actually, nesting mockingbirds are known to attack anything — including humans — they perceive as threats to their eggs and young. Moreover, not only will mockingbirds attack people, but researchers have found the creatures seem to be able to “recognize individual humans and will selectively attack them while ignoring other humans who pass by,” according to a report from the American Museum of Natural History.
I have seen mockingbirds actually swoop down and sharply peck cats and dogs, but for the most part, the birds’ “attacks” on people seem to be mere scare tactics. Many people. in fact, regard the mockingbird’s defense antics more with amusement than fear.
They may have another opinion, however, of another common backyard songbird, the brown thrasher, which is Georgia’s official state bird. An aggressive defender of its nest, the brown thrasher is known to strike people, dogs and snakes hard enough to draw blood.
Though not as fierce as mockingbirds and brown thrashers, other songbirds — American robin, Eastern bluebird, gray catbird, blue jay — may display “attack” aggression if they perceive threats to their nests.
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, retired Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The moon will be first quarter on Monday. Mercury, Venus and Saturn are low in the east just before sunrise. Mars is high in the west just after dark and will appear near the moon tonight. Jupiter is low in the west and will appear near the moon on Wednesday night.
Charles Seabrook can be reached at charles.seabrook@yahoo.com.
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